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According to the eternal wisdom of johnatl you have no credibility to criticize a large city unless you were born and raised in one. Lol..
@ Johnatl -- a city's population is in no way a barometer of how exciting, boring or liveable that city is. And there are plenty of examples in the US proving that point.
Get a clue. You are just as myopic in your observations.
I don't find all metros with over 5 million people boring just the ones I listed Currently I live in DC and I have no problem with the area, in fact I LOVE IT! Only city I could probably love more is NYC or Chicago.
I refuse to visit my boyfriend in Jacksonville because it's a dump and he agrees. He prefers to visit a city that is young people friendly, meaning we will have something to do, so it's really not a big deal for either of us.
Honestly Columbus, Charlotte, Houston, Jacksonville,and Atlanta could all be the same city to me. They are sprawled, strip mall oriented, no interesting architecture...just, boring, no offense. There's really no reason to visit them unless you have a business trip or family memeber that lives there.
Columbus, Charlotte, Houston, Jacksonville and Atlanta couldn't be more different if they tried. The only two that are vaguely similar are Charlotte and Atlanta because they are in the same region, and share the same geography.
As to your description of the above mentioned places, it sounds like you are just regurgitating the oft-repeated crap that the "older & colder" set around here spews regularly.
LOL. Did I just read that Houston, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Charlotte are the same cities? Anybody that says that knows nothing of what they speak. Houston and Jacksonville especially are completely different cities. I can agree with johnatl that Atlanta and Charlotte are nearly the same because the share the same geography. But even those two cities are different development wise.
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Today this is easily seen when visiting columbus' central city neighborhoods which are far more urban and dense than the other cities mentioned (minus Atlanta due to new condo/office development)
I don't know about Jacksonville. But Houston and Charlotte are doing the same as Atlanta. Houston for example is just doing it differently than Atlanta. Houston builds more mid-rises while Atlanta does the high-rises. The Inner Loop of Houston is pushing 6000 ppsm.
How interesting that someone from TOLEDO of all places finds metros of over 5 million people boring. And you REFUSE to visit your boyfriend simply because he lives in Jacksonville?
Sounds like you are going to have a difficult time finding somewhere that "suits" you.
You are very touchy these days John
In fact is seems the poster didnt have good things to say about their hometown. I think there are things to do in Atlanta but can definately understand why people would not like it; as with just about anyplace.
Get a clue. You are just as myopic in your observations.
lol... Take it easy pal! Why am I myopic? Because I refuse to drink your Atlanta koolaid?
I was actually considering putting Atlanta on my list of places to visit this year. And then I saw this post on the Atlanta board from our esteemed moderator and Atlanta resident Atlantagreg:
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Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127
Ok, the short of it (sort of) - Atlanta is no Seattle, and is not Melborne for sure. More like a Phoenix, with more crime and more suburban sprawl (and slightly lower temperatures but with more humidity).
I once had a friend from Christchurch, New Zealand who would come to the states for a month at a time and during that time visit 3-4 American cities on each trip. He LOVED Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Chicago. He HATED L.A., Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. His comment about Atlanta to me over dinner when he was here, "It's like a third world Island nation only with a lot more cars!". Urk!
Another example: A couple of years back, there was a small conference here in Atlanta where several Mayors of fast growing medium sized cities came here. The reason? To see what NOT to do as their cities continued to grow - Atlanta as the poster child for them of "What not to do" regarding sprawl, traffic, crime, etc. It was covered by local news, but I have a feeling the city tourist and development center didn't exactly greet these folks at the airport. ;-)
Ok, if you are coming here, Midtown is about as close to a large city, diverse, urban city environment as you're going to get - this is provided you're not homophobic, as Midtown is the West Village/West Hollywood equal in Atlanta has having a large gay community. It's walkable, has the city subway nearby (MARTA) and near Piedmond Park (our Central Park). Most condos are newer, cost more, and steel/glass. "Atlantic Station" which someone mentioned is across the interstate from Midtown - brand new built from scratch neighborhood. Some love it, some think it's too "Disney-ish" being generic and sanitized. Your call.
If you want older, "Virginia Highlands" is a neighborhood next to Midtown and has older homes, and a nice little "Village" which many people like, filled with varied shops and restaurants. If I *HAD* to live in the inner city of Atlanta again, I'd probably pick Virginia Highlands.
I think travel is great and you learn from each experience, but once you're finished with Atlanta and move on to your next destination, I have a feeling the words you'll describe it with will like Phoenix be "sprawl", as well as "smoggy, congested, lack of charactor".. etc. We'll see. ;-)
Chicago - don't like the repressive taxation, corruption, crime (and laws that penalize law abiding citizens from protecting themselves), and the racist balkanization.
Detroit - A city beyond repair.
Houston - The summer weather would destroy me, plus I need hills.
Oklahoma City - you can put lipstick on a pig but it still is a pig
In fact is seems the poster didnt have good things to say about their hometown. I think there are things to do in Atlanta but can definately understand why people would not like it; as with just about anyplace.
And you have absolutely no clue as to why I'm a little touchy with some posts?
Every single city in America is surrounded by sprawl, strip malls and boring architecture. The metro area of D.C. is no different, as all of us know. As far as stating that a diverse and different set of metro areas all over a million (and several much larger) are "boring" says more about the poster than the cities mentioned.
lol... Take it easy pal! Why am I myopic? Because I refuse to drink your Atlanta koolaid?
I was actually considering putting Atlanta on my list of places to visit this year. And then I saw this post on the Atlanta board from our esteemed moderator and Atlanta resident Atlantagreg:
Yeah that sounds like a great city...
There is no Atlanta koolaid coming from me. If there is any koolaid to be had here, it is definately the Manhattan-bubble variety that you find so thirst quenching.
And you have absolutely no clue as to why I'm a little touchy with some posts?
Every single city in America is surrounded by sprawl, strip malls and boring architecture. The metro area of D.C. is no different, as all of us know. As far as stating that a diverse and different set of metro areas all over a million (and several much larger) are "boring" says more about the poster than the cities mentioned.
If this strikes you as "touchy" so be it.
The problem isn't that Atlanta has sprawl. Even NYC has sprawl. As do London and Tokyo and Paris.
The problem with Atlanta is that's all it's got. You've got a 12 lane freeway running 0.1 miles from your State Capitol and low density suburbia inching to within 0.5 miles from the Capitol. Crazy.
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Currently I live in DC and I have no problem with the area, in fact I LOVE IT! Only city I could probably love more is NYC or Chicago. 
